


Tell Me It's Forever (Even If It's All A Lie)

by WardenRoot



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), Green Arrow and the Canaries (TV)
Genre: Eventual Fluff, F/F, Light Angst, Pre-Relationship, based around 8x09, but like just barely, mostly canon compliant but not a hundred percent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-28
Updated: 2020-03-10
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:47:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22941226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WardenRoot/pseuds/WardenRoot
Summary: After Crisis, Laurel and Dinah start spending a lot more time together, including basically living together and sleeping in the same bed, until one day when Laurel wakes up with Dinah nowhere to be seen
Relationships: Dinah Drake/Earth-2 Laurel Lance
Comments: 53
Kudos: 125





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to @Starling83 for betaing this <3
> 
> I had a sad idea, sent it to my friends to share the sadness, then they encouraged me to write this, and this isn't really that sad because I don't know how to write sad things but it exists now 😂 Hope y'all like it ♥
> 
> Title from Wild by Lily Papas, which I listened to on repeat while writing this thing

In the aftermath following the crisis — and Oliver’s death — Laurel and Dinah grow closer. Neither of them have actually said anything, and yet it feels like they’ve both admitted to feeling  _ something _ for the other. Dinah is terrified of labeling that something, but she hasn’t allowed herself to think of the reasons why, too scared that they will drive her away from Laurel.

When they got back home (Dinah uses the term “home” loosely — whatever Oliver did, this is simultaneously her Earth and not her Earth, familiar yet foreign), Dinah offered her apartment to Laurel, with Laurel having no other place to stay here. She doesn’t mind. Oliver dying shook her, and she wants to keep Laurel closer than ever.

They sleep in the same bed. Dinah hadn’t even thought to offer Laurel her couch, and she doesn’t think Laurel thought of taking it either. More often than not, their nights end with them falling asleep in each other’s arms. The few days between coming home and Oliver’s funeral are spent with the two of them nearly inseparable.

Then Oliver’s funeral rolls around, and something changes. Dinah still makes sure to stay close to Laurel, still  _ tries  _ to sleep listening to the rhythmic sound of Laurel’s heartbeat. But, unlike every other night she spent in Laurel’s arms, sleep refuses to take her. 

Because something changed. Oliver’s death made her realize her own mortality, made her realize that life is too short not to be spent with the people — or  _ person _ — she loves. But Oliver’s funeral made her realize  _ Laurel’s _ mortality. And it keeps scratching at the back of her mind, like a prophecy waiting to come true. If Dinah drags her to a city that’s unsafe, instead of letting her stay in the newly safe Star City, she might be bringing Laurel to her demise.

Too restless to stay in bed, Dinah gently unwraps herself from Laurel’s embrace. Laurel starts to stir and Dinah holds her breath, willing her to stay asleep. Which thankfully she does, having grabbed onto Dinah’s pillow instead of Dinah’s body. Dinah can’t help the fondness warming her heart as she watches her, and she doesn’t even think as she indulges in the urge that tells her to brush Laurel’s hair out of her face.

Taking a steadying breath, Dinah’s feet lightly hit the floor and she slinks over to the bedroom door, closing it behind her with as little noise as possible. She spends a couple seconds outside it, listening for any sign that she had woken Laurel up. When she hears nothing, she allows herself a relieved sigh before continuing on her way.

Fetching her keys, jacket, and helmet, Dinah speeds out the door, welcoming the cool night air. She tells herself she only needs a quick drive to clear her mind, that she will be back in bed before Laurel notices her absence. Putting on her helmet and getting on her bike, she truly believes it.

As she rides through the city with no destination in mind, Dinah allows her thoughts to wander to her sudden indecisiveness. Just a day ago, everything had been fine. They had been a friend down, and despite their many differences, Dinah will miss Oliver greatly. But she had known what her future held, known who she wanted to spend it with.

Her desire to spend it with Laurel hasn’t gone away. Dragging her along to another city that needs saving is almost at the top of her wishlist. The only thing above it, now that she’s started  _ thinking _ about it, is keeping Laurel safe. Laurel would be safe if she stayed here. Dinah never thought she’d say it, but Star City is now the safest place on Earth. With how much she’s been through, Laurel deserves a safe and normal life.

Dinah wants that life to be with her, but she knows she could never stay put somewhere safe. Not when she knows she could so much more, knows she could  _ save _ people. (In the back of her mind, she knows the same to be true for Laurel, but her doubts keep that part of her brain quiet).

But Dinah doesn’t know if she could ever leave her. They’ve barely even started exploring what they could be. Despite their short time together as…  _ whatever _ it is they are now, Dinah has come to expect her in her life. Her face is the first one she sees in the morning, her voice the first she hears, and her body the last thing she feels before going to sleep. She doesn’t ever want to be without it.

Without her permission, her mind drifts to Vinny. Specifically, being forced to watch him die. The memory brings back a number of emotions, making it harder to breathe. But possibly the hardest moment is when Vince disappears and Laurel takes his place, a shadowed face taking her life as Dinah is powerless to do anything but watch it happen.

She knows that their work is dangerous and that Laurel is drawn towards it as much as she is. But she’s already lost one love. Could she survive losing another?

***

When she wakes up, the morning light assaulting her eyes, Laurel immediately notices something missing: the heat usually keeping the morning coldness away. She throws an arm across the bed from her, hoping to find a warm body to cuddle up to, but all she finds is the softness of Dinah’s pillow. Blinking her eyes open, she frowns as she stares at the emptiness of the bed. Something uneasy coils in the pit of her stomach, but she shakes it off, telling herself Dinah probably just got an early start on her day.

Wrapping the blanket around herself, Laurel hesitantly gets out of bed. She tells herself the growing unease as she pads over to the door is simply because she has grown so accustomed to waking up next to someone else.

Stepping properly into the apartment, Laurel expects to see Dinah preparing breakfast for herself in the kitchen, or maybe quietly watching TV with an empty plate already on the coffee table. Laurel finds her in none of those places, and her anxiety only worsens.

“D?” she calls, quietly at first as she gets used to using her voice after sleeping. She only gets silence in return. “Dinah?” she tries again, louder this time as she starts methodically searching the whole apartment. It is only when she is about to give up that she notices the missing jacket and helmet next to the front door. She tries to fight the feeling of hurt from realizing Dinah has left sometime before Laurel woke up, without as much as a note to tell her where she went.

Not that Dinah owes her an explanation. Despite how it feels when they’re together, they haven’t defined the nature of their relationship, haven’t agreed that it’s different from normal friendship. Dinah can do whatever she wants with her day, and she has no obligation to tell Laurel about it.

She moves back to the bedroom, fetching her phone from the nightstand. She tells herself she doesn’t hope there will be a text there explaining Dinah’s absence, nor that she is disappointed when she is faced with an empty screen.

Walking back into the living room, Laurel finds herself at a loss for what to do. The apartment that has become so familiar to her over the past few days feels strange and almost unwelcoming without its owner. Deciding she has nothing better to do, she throws herself on the couch and switches the TV on to a random channel.

No position is right. She tries laying down, sitting with her legs underneath her, sitting with one leg thrown over the other, sitting cross-legged, even sitting  _ normally _ . None of them feel comfortable. None of them have the warmth or softness of her usual companion. None of them make Laurel feel like she belongs.

Her phone vibrates against the table, and Laurel almost jumps to see what it is. She deflates back on the couch when it turns out to just be a random notification.  _ What’s taking Dinah so long? _ Throwing the phone away, Laurel tries to think of something else to keep her occupied.

A long shower passes, and there’s still no sign of Dinah. The first chapter of the slowest book she’s ever read passes, and Dinah still hasn’t come home. A pack of cards stacked into a tower — rebuilt five times due to random collapses — and Laurel is still alone.

Grabbing her phone, she opens up her texts, quickly locating Dinah’s name. Typing out a message asking if she will be home for dinner takes two seconds, debating whether or not she should send it takes ten minutes. Laurel is not  _ needy _ . She does not  _ care _ what her spontaneous roommate gets up to without her. But she can’t shake the uneasy feeling in her stomach, only having grown bigger and bigger since the moment she woke up.

Swallowing her pride, she hits the send button. A few seconds pass and the message doesn’t even show up as delivered. Laurel frowns. Maybe Dinah doesn’t have service, or her phone died sometime between leaving and now. Maybe that’s why she hasn’t said anything to Laurel all day.

Or maybe, the true reason she hasn’t said anything is that she doesn’t want to. Maybe she has finally realized that Laurel isn’t worth it after all. That her past deeds make her wholly unworthy of Dinah’s time and care. Laurel can’t blame her for that — Dinah Drake is the last person to owe her anything.

Maybe Dinah hopes that if she just leaves her apartment alone for long enough, Laurel will get the hint and be gone before she gets back. Laurel swallows back a lump in her throat, checking her phone once more. The message is labeled as only being sent, and Laurel doesn’t know how much more she can take of this. Had this been any other time, she might have thought that Dinah was in danger. But Star City is  _ safe _ . It’s why they had talked about moving somewhere else together.

Maybe that was the final straw. Maybe Dinah was hoping Laurel would decline the offer to go with her, making it easy on Dinah to leave her behind. And maybe Dinah has decided to simply leave without her, decided that Laurel isn’t worth as much as a goodbye.

Suddenly, the empty apartment is too much for Laurel to bear. She collects her essentials and practically runs out the door, feeling like she’s being suffocated. She is grateful to find her own bike still standing in its parking spot, and she wastes no time throwing herself onto it. A small voice tells her that it’s stupid to ride without a helmet, but that voice sounds an awful lot like Dinah’s, so Laurel simply blocks it out. Feeling the wind on her face is exactly what she needs.

She doesn’t quite expect to end up outside Felicity’s home. But she supposes she shouldn’t be surprised either. After everything that happened, Felicity became her first friend, and Laurel treasures their friendship greatly.

“Laurel,” a surprised voice sounds, and as she turns to look at her friend, Laurel feels bad for bothering her when she’s still mourning the loss of her husband.

“I shouldn’t have come here,” she sighs, already rolling her bike to a position she can easily take off from.

“Wait!” Felicity calls, and the pleading tone gives Laurel pause. “You’re always welcome here.”

Laurel’s brow creases as she tries her best to hold back tears pricking behind her eyes. She doesn’t feel like she deserves anyone’s hospitality or friendship right now, especially not from someone as good as Felicity Smoak.

“Come inside?” How heartless would Laurel have to be to deny the request of a grieving friend. 

Before she can give herself the time to second-guess it, she kicks out the kickstand and rests the weight of the bike on it as she slides off. She gives Felicity a tentative smile as she follows her inside.

“Where’s Dinah?” Felicity asks, clearly as surprised to see them apart as Laurel was to wake up alone this morning.

“I don’t know,” Laurel admits reluctantly, a mix of hurt and worry blossoming back up again at the mention of her name. Felicity frowns, but doesn’t push.

“Not that I’m not grateful for your company — you’re always welcome here — but why are you here?” Felicity looks worried, and Laurel hates how selfish she must be to make  _ Felicity _ worried for  _ her _ .

Laurel thinks of a number of things to tell her, but as she looks into her friend’s eyes, the truth comes tumbling out on its own. “I didn’t want to be alone.” Felicity nods, but before either of them can say anything, there’s the sound of a baby crying.

“Just one second.” Felicity walks away, and Laurel follows her out of habit. They arrive at a crib with a small baby lying inside of it. The smallest of smiles pulls at Laurel’s lips as she compares the tiny creature to the fully grown person she remembers fighting alongside.

Felicity picks up her daughter and coos at her, her demeanor changing like a switch has been flipped, from grieving widow to adoring mother. Laurel’s chest warms at the confirmation that Felicity has someone to make everything easier on her.

“Now what’s this about you not knowing where Dinah is?” Felicity asks, interrupting Laurel’s musings. 

Laurel shrugs, really not feeling like talking about it. But, feeling Felicity’s intense gaze on her, she cannot stop herself from recounting her morning.

“That is odd,” Felicity says, speeding out of the room with Mia still in her arms.

“Where are we going now?” Laurel asks, following her hesitantly.

“To find out where Dinah is.” The  _ duh _ in Felicity’s voice goes unspoken. Laurel supposes she should feel bad about it, but hidden under all the hurt is still the worry that Dinah didn’t leave of her own accord and that something  _ is _ wrong. If Felicity can confirm anything either way, at least it will give Laurel some rest.

The one outcome either of them couldn’t have predicted is any information on Dinah seemingly having been erased from  _ everywhere _ . 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One thing I didn't expect to do while writing this fic was having to ask myself how Dinah got a bar when she doesn't exist and presumably then don't have any money but here we are ~~it's responsible for like half of this fic~~
> 
> Hope y'all enjoy this chapter ♥

Dinah frowns, looking at the building in front of her. She is  _ certain _ she took a familiar route home. She knows her way around the city, especially the area around her block and  _ especially  _ at night. But last she checked, her apartment building was  _ not _ a company building. And yet, all the familiar apartments are gone, replaced with a wall of windows Dinah is sure leads to closed-in offices.

Pulling out her phone, she calls Laurel. She doesn’t know quite what Laurel could offer as an explanation, but hers is the first number Dinah thinks of. Only, as she brings the phone up to her ear, the dialing tone never plays. With an even deeper frown, she looks at it. The words “no service” are written in the top left. 

Obviously, she must have made a wrong turn somewhere. She sighs as she gets back onto the road, driving around and looking for anything familiar. Squinting around, her eyes only land on unfamiliar buildings. Had she somehow fallen asleep and woken up in another city?

She drives until she finds a gas station, everywhere she looks still unfamiliar to her. Hopefully, someone inside the station will be able to tell her something that makes sense. Something tugs guiltily at her stomach as her thoughts drift to Laurel, who must have woken up to an empty apartment by now. Dinah had never counted on being gone so long, and her phone deciding to stop working doesn't help the situation. Maybe she’ll be lucky and Laurel will decide to sleep in today.

The cashier greets her as she enters, and Dinah throws a quick, “Hey,” in his direction. Approaching the register, she glances at the magazines lining the wall. She glosses over the usual celebrity crap, but her eyes catch on a particular headline.  _ “Top 5 2040 Mayoral Candidates.” _

“Can I help you?” the cashier asks, forcing Dinah to look away from the headline.

“What year is this?” she asks before she can stop herself. 

The cashier looks at her dumbly, hesitating for a moment before answering.“Twenty-forty.”

Surely it has to be a joke. Surely Dinah can’t be  _ there _ . She must have fallen asleep somewhere. Maybe she never even left Laurel’s arms at all, but fell asleep without knowing. That has to be it. She is still laying comfortably in Laurel’s embrace. All of  _ this _ is just her anxiety spiking around Laurel and her leaving.

“Ma’am?” the cashier says, bringing Dinah out of her thoughts.

“Can you give me directions to the SCPD?” she asks, her mind working in overdrive. She wants to believe it’s a dream, but it all feels too real, and in case it isn’t a dream, she needs a plan of attack.

The cashier stares at her for a few minutes more before pulling out his phone and showing her a map with a path from the gas station to the precinct. “Thank you,” Dinah says hurriedly, already on her way back to her bike.

The drive to the precinct goes by easily enough. At least the precinct is still in the same place it used to be, albeit looking much different. She notices almost no cop cars outside, and wonders if it’s due to a lot of officers on patrol or a lack of cars. How much can the city have changed in twenty years?

Walking into the building, the first thing she notices is how few people are actually in the building. And the ones who are, seem to mostly be sitting around bored. If that means the city is still as safe as it was in twenty-twenty, Dinah almost wonders why they even bother with a precinct at all.

“Can I help you, ma’am?” the receptionist asks. Dinah almost expects to see the same receptionist as back home behind the desk, but the person who faces her is new.

“Yes,” Dinah says, but she pauses. What exactly had she been hoping to achieve by coming here? “My name is Dinah Drake, I used to work here twenty years ago.” Despite already having quit her job, the words feel weird leaving her mouth. 

The receptionist frowns as she types something into her computer. “That’s strange,” she drawls, looking between Dinah and her screen. “I can’t find any mention of a Dinah Drake.”

Dinah frowns too then. She knows it has been a long time, but surely they must have files on the former Captain of Police?

“Did you need any help, sweetheart?” Dinah holds her tongue before she can ask about Laurel. If she isn’t recognized, she’ll be made to file a missing persons report. If they even have those anymore. But Laurel isn’t even missing, as far as Dinah knows. Dinah simply doesn’t know where to look for her.

“I’m here to report a crime.” A hush falls around her at her words, as if the few people in there haven’t heard of crimes before.

“Are you sure?” the receptionist asks, the crease between her brow only deepening.

“Yeah, I’m sure.” Dinah’s patience is already wearing thin. If this is a dream, she’s going to have to have a  _ talk _ with her brain. “Is there an officer around I can talk to?”

“I’ll take your statement,” a young uniformed man says. Dinah doubts he’s been here long, and she wonders why anyone would want to become a cop, growing up in a safe city. He smiles sweetly at her, and Dinah gives him her most charming smile as she follows him into a small office.

“So, describe what happened?” he asks, sitting down at a desk and pulling out a pen and paper.

“Right,” Dinah says, clearing her throat as she sits down opposite him. Reaching a hand across the desk to lightly run a finger along the back of the officer’s, she eyes the computer in front of him. “My throat is awfully dry. Is there anything to drink around here?” Tilting her head, she makes sure the smile is still plastered on her face.

“Of course.” The young man looks only too happy to please, and Dinah fights the urge to roll her eyes. Apparently men haven’t become any harder to manipulate in the future.

The moment he leaves the room, Dinah practically jumps over the desk, booting up the computer. She doesn’t know whether to be more grateful or annoyed when the same password she used twenty years ago still works. She supposes a safe city means they don’t really have to worry about people hacking into their system.

The system has had a few touch-ups, but it’s still similar enough to the one she knew that she can easily find her way around. Her initial plan is to look up Laurel’s name, but curiosity from her encounter with the receptionist takes over, and soon enough she’s putting her own name into the search box. 

It takes a few seconds before the computer finishes its search.

_ Nothing _ .

Not as much as a citizen number.

How is that possible?

Her curiosity only growing, she writes in ‘Black Canary’ instead. Another empty search. Holding back a growl of frustration, she starts writing Laurel’s name, but stops when she hears footsteps approaching. Cursing under her breath, she quickly turns the computer off and runs for the door. She passes a very confused looking officer as she speeds out of the precinct.

She gets back onto her bike with a sigh.  _ Now what? _ Where would she even start looking for Laurel in a city this big? Would Laurel even still be here? More than that, would she even  _ want _ to see Dinah? The thought of Laurel having found someone else, having made a  _ family _ with someone else, crosses her mind, and nausea swirls in her stomach.

Not knowing what else to do, she decides to do a round of the city, checking anywhere there might be any trace of her. It takes up the better part of her day and gets her nowhere.

Walking out of what used to be her bank, she stares at the ground. She will have to think of somewhere to stay for the night soon. She entertains the thought of foregoing sleep and patrolling the streets instead, re-famliarizing herself with them, but this city has no use for a vigilante — no use for  _ her _ .

Looking up, the world moves in slow motion. A new building is being worked on right next to the bank, and a sizable piece of concrete slips from its resting place. Underneath, a person stands ignorant of the concrete about to crush them. Without thinking, Dinah takes off running, throwing herself at the person so they both tumble to the ground mere inches away from where the concrete lands a few seconds later.

The person, someone twenty to thirty years Dinah’s senior, with half-short purple hair, brown eyes that match their skin, and a kind face, stares between Dinah and the broken up concrete. Dinah can’t help but feel a thrill at having helped  _ someone _ .

“Thank you,” the person says as Dinah rolls off of them and jumps up to her feet.

“I’m just glad I could help.” Dinah smiles as she offers her hand, helping to pull them back up.

“I’m Shae.” Before Dinah gets the time to react, she is being pulled into possibly one of the best hugs of her life. “Is there anything I can do thank you?”

She is about to say her usual shtick of just doing her job when her thoughts are drawn to her lack of a home. “Do you happen to have a spare bed for the night? Or a couch, or just somewhere inside to sleep?”

“I’ve got just the place.” A mysterious smile adorns Shae’s lips, and Dinah wonders if she shouldn’t be more cautious as she follows them. But her gut is only reacting positively to the kind stranger, and should things go south, Dinah is more than capable.

Shae ends up taking her to a small bar, which definitely was not at the top of Dinah’s list of possible locations she could be taken. The bar looks nice. Only a few people are there — the evening still young — but it has a comfortable atmosphere. She frowns when she is led deeper into the building, all the way to an elevator.

Exiting the elevator, Dinah has to do a double take on the big, open space. 

“Bedroom’s up the stairs. There are clean sheets in the closet, and the water and power should all still be working if you want to freshen up. My address and phone number are on a slip of paper on the counter next to the fridge.”

“This isn’t yours?” Dinah had assumed she would be crashing on the okay-looking couch in the middle of the room.

“It came with the bar. I used to rent it out but it’s been empty for a while now. It’s yours for as long as you need it.” Shae smiles warmly at her, and Dinah can’t help the gratitude that swells in her chest.

“Thank you,” she tells them, holding back tears as she properly takes the apartment in.

“It’s the least I could do. I have to go check on the bar. Why don’t you make yourself at home, familiarize yourself with the place?” Dinah nods, and then Shae disappears behind the closing elevator doors, leaving Dinah alone. She doesn’t plan to stay in 2040 for long if she can help it, but as far as places to crash in go, Dinah could have done much, much worse.

***

The next few days somehow pass excruciatingly slowly and as fast as the blink of an eye. Dinah is invited over for dinner with Shae and their wife. Even though she feels like she should be out on the street, looking for this time’s Laurel, she cannot bring herself to say no. As nice as the dinner is, Dinah is unable to let Laurel or 2020 slip from her mind.

She thinks of it so much that Shae catches on, and after some not too subtle — but not too unwelcome, either — prodding, Dinah tells them that she’s looking for someone. It doesn’t take Shae long to come to the conclusion that that someone is more than just a friend. To Dinah’s surprise, Shae promises to help, to ask around with different contacts. Dinah is wary of getting her hopes up too high, but the warm look Shae gives her makes her want to believe they can help.

***

A couple days pass before Shae visits Dinah above the bar with a folder. Dinah eyes it suspiciously, not quite sure she wants to know what is hidden inside it. Shae leaves her alone to check it out, but it takes Dinah a good few minutes before giving in and opening it. A picture of Laurel assaults her eyes, and longing springs up in her chest. Tearing her eyes away from it, Dinah reads what little information there is.

Her brow creases as she takes it all in. She had expected a location, maybe a job, some hint to what she’s been doing all these years. What she finds instead is a date of going missing. Dinah’s heart sinks. It had happened just a few days after Oliver’s funeral and Dinah’s transportation. Dinah briefly entertains the thought that she had gotten transported here too, but surely, if that were the case, Laurel would have been looking for her too. And surely, with both of them asking around, they would have found each other by now.

Maybe she still moved, only without Dinah when Dinah never came home, to become a vigilante in a city that needed it. Maybe she forgot about Dinah the moment Dinah made the decision to sneak out of bed. Dinah swallows hard, her eyes drifting back to the photo of a Laurel from twenty years ago.

Closing the folder, she hopes that wherever Laurel is, she’s happy, even if the universe didn’t want them to be happy together.

***

She spends the next few days sightseeing, her eyes catching on every head of short, blonde hair she sees. Dinah tells herself she’s not out there looking for Laurel. She simply wants to see what Star City has become, what hints are left of the past. She’s relieved to at least find Big Belly Burger still intact.

She buys dinner there one day. She takes it with her back to the apartment to eat in peace. Unpacking it all on the table, she stares dumbly at the milkshake she didn’t even realize she had ordered. Memories of Laurel convincing her to dip a fry in it float through her mind. The satisfaction Laurel had gotten out of it had made it more than worth it. And, despite how dubious it had sounded, Dinah had to admit it tasted good.

She loses all her appetite as she stares at the now depressing meal. Pushing it away, she thinks of something to do. The bar downstairs opened a while ago. Maybe an evening drinking is exactly what Dinah needs.

She is a little disappointed to find one of Shae’s bartenders instead of Shae tending to it. She is less disappointed when he informs her that Shae had told him she was to drink for free. The amount of cash she had on her when she got here is quickly dwindling, and not having to spend any of it tonight is definitely a relief.

Dinah stays down there until closing, finding she really enjoys the atmosphere of the bar.

***

She spends the next day holed up in the apartment, hunting for jobs. She had counted on finding a way home by now, but seeing as she is still here and her cash is almost gone, she is going to need to eat somehow. She doesn’t quite think free nachos from the bar will provide enough nutrients. When evening comes and she finds nothing that appeals to her, she decides to go to bed and continue figuring out the work problem tomorrow.

Walking through the bar on her way out the next morning, Dinah’s eyes catch on the piano on the small stage. In her short time here, she can’t remember seeing it being used once. Walking up to it, she wonders if there’s maybe something wrong with it. She drags her hand along the keys, applying more pressure bit by bit until they give in under her fingers, playing familiar notes.

The sound brings back memories from a happier time in her life. Dinah sits down on the small bench and lets her fingers move of their own will, refinding notes she used to know by heart. Before long, she finds herself lost in the music, a song she used to sing when she was younger pouring out through her lips as her eyes close, blocking the world out.

When she opens them again, finding herself breathless from the singing, her gaze lands on Shae, clapping gently with an awestruck smile on their face.

“I’m sorry, I should have asked—” Dinah starts, practically jumping to her feet, but Shae gestures for her to stop.

“No, that was beautiful,” they say, their smile turning softer. “It hasn’t been used in ages, and I’m not sure it’s ever been handled by someone so skilled. If you’re looking for something to do in the evenings, feel free to come down here and play.”

“Really?” The thought of playing more plays pleasantly on Dinah’s mind. 

“I can pay you, if you want to make it into a regular thing. With talent like that on the stage, it’s sure to bring more patrons.” Shae’s compliment sends a wave of warmth through Dinah, and the prospect of getting paid for something she enjoys doing is more than she could have hoped for.

“Deal,” she finds herself saying, unable to keep herself from giving Shae a hug that Shae is quick to return.

***

And so Dinah starts spending most of her evenings down at the bar. At first, she is a little hesitant to play for strangers, but Shae showing up the first few times helps to settle her nerves. Soon enough, she starts looking forward to it.

Somewhere along the way, Shae offers to teach her how to tend to the bar. Dinah jumps on the opportunity to learn something new, quickly picking up on the skills Shae teaches her. From then on, she starts helping out behind the bar whenever there is need for it, enjoying mostly every second.

She finds herself the most surprised of all when Shae offers her the bar one night. They explain they’ve become too old to run it, that they and their wife want to spend the next part of their life traveling. Apparently, they have seen how much Dinah has grown to care about the bar. Dinah hadn’t even realized it herself, but now that Shae has pointed it out, she knows the truth of the words. She has become more attached to this place than she ever anticipated.

Shae gives her some time to think about it, telling her the decision shouldn’t be made lightly.

That evening, instead of being behind the bar or piano as she usually is, Dinah finds herself wandering the streets of 2040 Star City. They have become familiar to her now — the things she thinks about when her mind wanders to the city. Maybe even when they wander to her  _ home _ .

But she’s never been particularly good at staying in one place. Hell, when she got transported here she had been about to leave the city for the foreseeable future. The image of the person she was supposed to leave it with ghosts by her side. Closing her eyes, Dinah imagines the feel of Laurel’s skin against her own, walking hand in hand with her down the street.

But that life is long since gone. Dinah knows by now she needs to move on.

When a figure steps out from the shadows in front of her, Dinah’s hand moves to grab a bo she hasn’t had with her for weeks.

“Relax,” a familiar voice says, and for just a second, when Dinah sees the specks of blonde hair on the person’s head, she thinks that maybe Laurel has found her after all. Her heart falls when it is revealed to belong to the other Lance sister.

“Sara,” she breathes, forcing her heartbeat to calm down.

“Dinah Drake.” Sara narrows her eyes as she takes her in, and Dinah can’t help but think there’s something of Laurel in the way Sara inspects her.

“What are you doing here? Is something wrong?”

“No. I’m assuming  _ you’re _ the anomaly, and I’m assuming you don’t have any plans to run around causing havoc.” Sara smiles at her, and it’s hard to not see Laurel in it.

“No, no havoc-causing here.”

“Good. Well, since I’m here, do you need a ride back to 2020?”

The world seems to move in slow motion as Dinah processes Sara’s offer. Going home had been all Dinah had wanted since arriving there. Now, however, she finds herself doubting it. Intentional or not, she has made a home for herself here. She can own a bar, if she wants to. A bar she has fallen in love with, with a piano that has her heart singing.

Sara shifts her weight from foot to foot, bringing Dinah out of her thoughts.

"The city's been safe for the past twenty years. It doesn't need me to be the Canary anymore, and I’ve accepted that. But I have a new life here, one I think I want to keep. Just, tell me one thing — is Laurel okay?" Surely Sara would know.

Sara watches her for a second, as if she has to think her answer over. How hard can it be? Dinah’s just looking for a simple answer, she’s not asking for her whole life story since Dinah disappeared.

After what feels like forever, Sara finally answers. “She is.” Her expression is unreadable, but Dinah doubts she’s lying.

“I’m going to stick around here, see what the city has to offer in the sunlight rather than the night,” she says, a small smile pulling at her lips as she looks at the buildings around them.

“Okay. I’ll see you around.” And just like that, Sara is gone.

When Dinah gets  _ home _ , she calls Shae, telling them she’ll take over the bar if it’s what Shae truly wants.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~My apologies for no Laurel this chapter~~


	3. Chapter 3

Laurel paces impatiently in front of Felicity’s house, waiting for her si—  _ Sara _ to join her. Felicity has decided to wait inside to give the two of them time to talk, and Laurel doesn’t quite know if she’d rather face Sara alone, or with someone she knows who doesn’t have the face of her dead sister. After a couple days of fruitless searching in the city, Felicity had suggested they call the Legends, reasoning — with just a hint of jealousy — that they have better tech than Felicity could ever dream of.

When Sara finally appears through some form of portal, Laurel has to keep herself back from attacking her with questions.

“I found her,” she says, and Laurel’s eyes search for familiar waves of brown hair when the portal closes behind Sara.

“Where is she?” she asks, worry pooling in the pit of her stomach.

“She’s safe — in 2040 Star City.” Laurel’s eyes widen.  _ She’s twenty years in the future _ .

“Why didn’t you take her back with you?” Maybe the accusation in her voice isn’t what Sara deserves, but Laurel can’t find it in herself to care. She isn’t going to wait  _ twenty years _ to see Dinah again.

“She refused. I wasn’t about to force her.” Sara’s eyes are apologetic as Laurel processes her words. 

Dinah had had an opportunity to come home, to come back to  _ Laurel _ , and she had refused. Her mind wanders to waking up to the empty apartment, Dinah’s keys and helmet already gone. The moment she discovered Dinah was missing, Laurel hadn’t thought of the implications of it all. But now, it’s hard not to see what’s staring her in her face. Dinah chose to leave her.

“Oh.” The word tumbles out of her lips as she steels herself. If Dinah doesn’t care enough to even say goodbye, then Laurel won’t either.

“But there’s something else. Dinah gave up being the Black Canary, but Star City still needs one. Not now, but in the future.” Sara pulls up a tablet Laurel hadn’t noticed until now. It is shoved into her hands, and Laurel frowns as she looks down at it. “Star City will be safe for the next twenty years. Then, Bianca Bertinelli will be kidnapped and a few days later, after her murder, this will be how the city looks. With Mia Queen at the center of it all.”

_ That’s ridiculous _ . Laurel remembers working with Mia in the future timeline that happened before Oliver sacrificed himself to change it. Despite being as stubborn as her father, Laurel can’t believe she would help destroy the city he died to save. But, the article staring back at her, detailing how  _ Mia Queen _ had failed Star City, is hard to deny.

“Well, if little miss perfect has put saving the city behind her, I guess I’ll have to go show her how it’s done. And save Oliver and Felicity’s legacy.” Laurel glances back at the house, where Felicity is currently taking care of baby Mia. She will do this for her friend.

***

When Sara teleports her to the future — after a quick pit stop at Star Labs — she tells her she left her a little something in case she needs help on the tablet, then teleports away with a smirk. Laurel assumes it’s a direct line to the Waverider, or maybe even the version of Felicity she just left. She does  _ not _ expect to find an address labeled “Dinah Drake’s Bar”. Laurel can’t quite imagine Dinah as the head of a bar instead of a precinct. But then again, she hadn’t imagined Dinah leaving her either.

Deciding she doesn’t need anyone else for this, she instead looks up Bianca Bertinelli’s last known location. Having taken her motorcycle with her through the portal, she puts the tablet away and speeds towards the nightclub listed.

Of course, it’s never so easy. When Bianca gets kidnapped despite Laurel’s presence, she looks to her tablet again, hoping to find something that might help locate her. She only finds the one thing Sara left that might help, but that exact thing she’s hoping to avoid. 

She looks down to the ring Cisco had made her. Maybe she should just try to find Mia. If she makes her remember, maybe this whole thing can be avoided without Laurel needing to go  _ there _ . But she can’t deny having Dinah there, with how long she’s been in this time now, would be an advantage. And maybe, just maybe, through all the hurt there’s still some part of her that wants to make sure she’s actually okay.

_ This would have been so much easier if Laurel had just stayed a villain. _ Feelings only mean getting hurt.

Deciding she’ll think it over in the morning, she pulls up her tablet, looking for somewhere to sleep. She finds a hotel room already paid for, presumably by one of Sara’s more tech savvy friends, but only for two nights. Looks like she’ll either have to wrap it up by then or find somewhere else to crash.

***

Dinah doesn’t know why the day feels so different, but it’s like the air has been charged with something inexplicable ever since she woke up. It’s been two months since she saw Sara, two months since she accepted Shae’s offer. She hadn’t realized how big a part of her the bar had grown to be until the paperwork was signed and it was all truly  _ hers _ . 

Maybe what she’s feeling now is just two months of being the owner settling in. It makes her almost dizzy. Before she got transported here, she never could have imagined herself being  _ this _ . Of course, she still misses being a cop, a vigilante, working with a team. But there’s something special about her biggest worry being what she has to order the most of and her patrons all behaving. No boogeyman hiding in the shadows, no injuries to hide away.

And the singing. She thinks she enjoys that the most. Whether she has an audience or not isn’t so important, though she has noticed it’s something her customers enjoy. But simply sitting down with the piano, playing a familiar tune and singing familiar words, there’s just something magical about it.

Which is why she’s here right now, in the middle of the day, doing exactly that. It’s an old song she’s picked, but the words roll smoothly off her tongue and the ambient chatter in the background somehow just serves to make it so much more enriching.

As her fingers play a melody she’s played many times before, the air gets thicker. The inexplicable something that has been hanging around her since she woke is even more apparent, despite being completely indecipherable.

That is, until Dinah turns her head just a little.

Because when Dinah moves her eyes elsewhere, the pieces all fall into place.

The reason she’s been feeling this way is standing right in front of her.

_ Here. _ In 2040.

Not looking a day older than the day Dinah got transported away.

What’s worse still is she  _ smiles _ as she catches Dinah’s gaze.

Surely her mind is playing tricks on her.

The sight has caught her completely off guard, and Dinah is grateful for being able to carry on regardless. She doesn’t know if that gratefulness carries into the way the words she was unable to say so long ago easily roll of her tongue, replacing the words she  _ knows _ come next as her feelings for Laurel spiral in her chest.

She doesn’t quite realize she’s closed her eyes until she opens them again, her fingers finishing off the song as she involuntarily looks towards Laurel again. If she wasn’t breathless from the singing, the sight of Laurel surely would have done the job.

Her patrons applaud her performance, but Dinah barely registers it as she slides off the chair, legs moving her towards Laurel before she’s given them the order.

“Hey,” Laurel says, and that single word sounds better than any music Dinah’s heard since she got here. Laurel bites her lip, and Dinah can’t help but notice the way she’s eyeing the exit, as if considering an escape route.

“Hey,” Dinah breathes, still not sure this is actually real. Maybe she’s still sleeping and her dreams have decided to haunt her with what she thought she couldn’t have.

Either way, proper reunion or no, having it in the middle of the bar surrounded by people isn’t something Dinah wants. And so, she gestures with her head for Laurel to follow as she leads them further into the building to the elevator. She has the constant urge to turn around to make sure Laurel is still there, but is equally terrified that, much like with the tale of  Orpheus , if she turns around to look, Laurel will disappear forever.

She cannot give words to the relief that fills her when she enters the elevator to find Laurel close behind her.

Laurel expresses amazement at her apartment, and Dinah can’t help but be a little proud of showing Laurel the life she has made for herself.

Of course, Laurel  _ has  _ to bring up the fact that Dinah refused to go back home. Though, Dinah supposes it’s her fault for asking how Laurel found her in the first place. Despite the topic, as Dinah gives her the abridged version of what happened when she got there, it feels so very good to do something as simple as  _ talking _ with Laurel again.

Laurel sits down next to her as they talk, so close Dinah can feel her warmth, and it brings her right back to how they used to be. It’s one of the things she misses most about her old life. Of course she misses talking to Laurel and everything else they did together. But the closeness, feeling warmth seep into her skin from her companion, merely existing together… Nothing can beat that.

“Not gonna lie, your zen is kinda freaking me out.” Laurel’s words bring her out of her musings, and Dinah can’t keep back a smile.

“Thank you!” Despite the zen she’s worked up while being here, right now she feels anything but. Ever since Laurel walked into her bar, her heart has been beating out of control, and she feels like she could combust at any moment. Dinah is surprised at the fact that Laurel doesn’t notice.

She should have known this wasn’t just a social visit. She still can’t help but be surprised when Laurel tells her someone in the city will commit murder. As Captain of Police and the Black Canary, she had known first-hand how terrible the people of Star City could be. And yet, after being here for a few months, a murder happening seems so inconceivable.

She tries to tell Laurel she’s moved past that life. Of course Laurel pulls her right back in anyway. Dinah doesn’t know how she ever thought she would be able to resist it. She has to admit, though, Laurel has her curious about the third person they’re adding to their little team. However, she could do without Laurel insulting her clothes on the way.

***

Mia Queen. The third person on their team ends up being the daughter of two of their closest friends. It makes sense, who wouldn’t want someone with both Felicity and Oliver’s DNA on their crime-fighting team. Not to mention, in this timeline, she knows the victim. Still, a small part of Dinah had hoped that all the kids could have been kept out of this. They had enough happen to them the last time Dinah tried to make them into heroes.

Of course, Laurel didn’t tell Dinah about her magic ring that brings all of Mia’s memories rushing back. She knows from experience how unsettling it can be, how much information your brain suddenly has to sort through, vying for being the primary timeline. It must be even more confusing for Mia. Dinah, Laurel, everyone else back home… They had gotten memories from a potential future, pieces of their life that hadn’t been filled in yet — even if, before the crisis, they had lived it. Mia has grown up in two different worlds, and Dinah can’t imagine the struggle of having two different sets of memories that both map out her entire life.

She takes it surprisingly well, all things considered. Though they really shouldn’t expect anything less, considering who raised her. It doesn’t stop Dinah from being impressed at how easily Mia is convinced to help them infiltrate her friend’s family home.

Looking at Mia as she digests everything in Dinah’s bar, Dinah can’t help but wonder which version of her was in Oliver’s funeral. The Mia who grew up in this timeline grew up with stories of her father, what he did for all of them. So maybe it’s not so far-fetched that she would be there? But then again, this Mia doesn’t seem so keen on anything that would question the life Oliver gave her. Dinah knows she doesn’t exist anymore, but before Laurel had sparked Mia’s other memories, she didn’t even remember the two of them, even though all of them were at the funeral.

So maybe, the version of her at the funeral is in all their futures. Maybe, Mia had looked at the both of them in 2020, and known that in just a day their lives would be turned upside down. And if so, had she held the information back because she knew they would work together but didn’t want to mess any more with her past, or because their partnership will end up failing and she wanted to pretend it never existed in the first place? 

Or maybe she had simply been an innocent girl, unaware of the hell her life had used to be, who missed her father and mother and wanted one more chance to be close to both, even if one of them was being buried, and simply didn’t have eyes for anyone else.

Either way, it doesn’t matter. Regardless of Mia’s timeline, wondering about it now will do them no good. Especially not when they have a good old infiltration to go through with.

Infiltrating the Bertinelli house goes smoothly enough. Sure, Dinah is near to getting caught, but what’s a proper mission without a few close calls? Mia handles it better than Dinah could have imagined, and she can’t help but feel proud. But she also can’t shake the guilty feeling clawing at her for pulling Mia back into this life.

When they’re done, Mia leaves to question her friends and Dinah is once more left alone with Laurel. It both excites and terrifies her.

When they return to the bar, Dinah would be lying if she said she wasn’t disappointed when she found Laurel staying behind in the actual bar as she herself went to the elevator. But she can understand if Laurel needs time away from her, and so she tries to focus on work as she sits alone in her apartment.

She tries not to let the relief show when Laurel exits the elevator a short time later, instead choosing to pick up their familiar banter. It feels good, like a breath of fresh air. Dinah didn’t realize until now how much she’s missed it.

“Oh, man, this is one hell of a view, I can see why you hide out here.” Dinah tries not to, she really does, but her eyes roll of their own accord at Laurel’s words.

“Subtle. I am not hiding. I told you, the world doesn’t remember who I am.” And she isn’t. Even though everything is crumbling now that Laurel is here. She doesn’t regret the life she’s built, but maybe she regrets building it without the person now sitting on her couch. And maybe, just maybe, there is a little truth to Laurel’s words that Dinah doesn’t want to face.

“Don’t you remember you?” 

Dinah sighs. She really doesn’t expect Laurel to understand, and she tells her as much. Still, when Laurel offers her the chance to talk, offering her  _ friendship _ , Dinah finds herself unable to refuse it. In all her time in 2040, one of the things she’s lacked the most is someone who knows her past.

And so, Dinah moves over to the couch, sitting down next to Laurel out of habit, despite the size of her couch. She tells Laurel of when she came here, her journey to accepting that the universe was telling her she shouldn’t be a hero. Laurel catches her gaze, and Dinah is mesmerized by it.

“Zoe didn’t die because she was a Canary, she died because she was a hero, because  _ you  _ inspired her, and a bunch of other women just like her to fight for something greater than themselves. Myself included.” For a second, Dinah doubts the truth she has come to know. Laurel’s stare is so intense, her words so uncharacteristically devoid of snark, and it touches something deep in Dinah’s soul.

Then Mia walks in and Laurel is back to same old, same old, trading snark back and forth with their third member. Dinah doesn’t have the time to contemplate what Laurel had said when her tablet beeps, alerting them of Bianca’s cousin getting ready to move  _ something _ .

***

Of course Bianca’s cousin is a bust. And of course Laurel and Mia end up in a fight. At least, putting the Canary suit back on had felt better than Dinah could ever have imagined. Despite what Dinah thinks about leaving Mia alone to fight on her own, she can’t deny that Deathstroke — who none other than Mia’s current fiancé was the last to be known as — showing up is one hell of a coincidence. As much as she hates the implications that Mia might be in love with a criminal.

Mia isn’t happy when she leaves, but at least she promises to take the two of them to JJ’s party the day after before she does. Laurel ends up leaving too, saying something about a hotel room she has to check in on.

Dinah doesn’t get a whole lot of sleep that night. She had just gotten used to sleeping alone, but now that she knows Laurel is here, in the same city at the same point in time, her body yearns to lie next to hers. But Dinah lost that right the moment she started doubting their future together. And even though Laurel’s appearance here has filled her with uncertainty, there is still a part of her that thinks the universe wants them to be apart.

***

The next day goes by in a whirlwind. First there’s JJ’s party, which leads to Mia and Laurel fighting. Then, to Dinah’s surprise, Laurel somehow manages to make friends with Mia again, and Mia actually puts on her father’s suit as they rescue Bianca. With that roller coaster of a day, Dinah had barely had any time to think, but it had felt  _ good _ . Almost like she never left 2020 at all.

It’s enough to almost make her forget about everything going on between her and Laurel. Until Mia leaves and Laurel approaches her with a puppy face that Dinah knows she won’t be able to resist.

“Soooo, Sara kind of only got me two nights at my hotel…” Dinah shakes her head, her lips quirking up as she nods for Laurel to follow her up to her apartment.

Everything is fine as she finds a spare pillow and carries it down the stairs for Laurel to use, but when Laurel mentions getting her own place, mentions  _ staying, _ Dinah’s world is turned upside down for the nth time since Laurel walked into her bar. Because if Laurel is staying, that means that maybe the universe didn’t want them apart. Maybe they just needed some time to themselves before they could be together.

Which is why she can’t help the words tumbling out of her mouth as she sits next to Laurel, so close she can nearly feel her. “You know, my bed’s a lot more comfortable than the couch.” She regrets the words immediately. The moment they leave her lips, the air changes. Laurel goes from being relaxed, from smiling at her, to tensing up, a mask falling onto her features.

“You left,” she states, wary gaze meeting Dinah’s. Dinah nods. “And you didn’t come back. Didn’t even leave a message.” Dinah looks down at her hands, wishing she could explain to Laurel why everything turned out the way it did. But she doubts it would really make the situation any better. “The couch will be fine.” The words shouldn’t sting as much as they do.


	4. Chapter 4

The couch is  _ fine.  _ Or so Laurel tries to tell herself. She doesn’t know how long it’s been since Dinah left up the stairs, but Laurel has spent every moment of it  _ miserable _ . The couch doesn’t feel right. The giant window lets in too much of the street light. Blanket off is too cold, blanket on is too hot. Knowing the body she got so used to is just one floor up is  _ killing _ her.

But the couch is absolutely  _ fine _ .

Maybe she should just give up on sleep and go raid Dinah’s bar instead. 

Sighing, she jumps to her feet. Lying down is doing nothing and Laurel can feel herself becoming restless, so she might as well pace the energy away. Besides, between trying to get both Dinah and Mia to remember who they are and stopping the city from going down in flames, Laurel never had any time to explore Dinah’s apartment. She figures this is as good a time as any.

She gets through about half of it before she hears movement from upstairs. She pauses, holding her breath as she half-expects Dinah to run down the stairs and chastise her for being up. Laurel rolls her eyes at just the thought. But Dinah never comes, and Laurel tries really hard not to be disappointed by that.

_ Laurel _ had been the one to deny the offer of sharing a bed. It’s Laurel’s own fault she’s stuck down here — awake — instead of sleeping peacefully up there. 

There’s a noise from upstairs again, and Laurel’s legs move before she has fully processed it. She only realizes what she’s doing when she’s nearly at the top of the stairs. Debating if she should turn back now that she knows what she’s doing, her body seems to make that decision for her, easily climbing the last few steps.

She holds her breath when she enters Dinah’s space.  _ This was a bad idea _ . Dinah’s sleeping, and judging by how messy her bed sheets are, the noises Laurel had heard was probably just her rolling around in her bed.

Or, at least Laurel thinks she’s sleeping until Dinah turns around to face her, tired eyes looking straight at her. Laurel’s mouth falls open, but she doesn’t know which excuse she could possibly come up with for being here. It turns out she doesn’t have to say anything.

Dinah’s mouth pulls up in a tired smile as she shuffles to one end of the bed, dragging her blanket with her. Laurel swallows audibly as she drags herself towards the bed, every step feeling heavier than the last. She pauses in front of it, asking herself if she shouldn’t just go back to the couch and pretend this never happened. But Dinah pats the mattress ever so lightly, an inviting look on her face as she stares at Laurel, and Laurel is powerless to do anything but give in.

At least Dinah doesn’t sleep with an insufficient amount of pillows, and there is one practically waiting for Laurel’s head to lie on it on her half of the bed. She wordlessly lies down on her back. She crosses her arms awkwardly over her torso, scared of letting them wander. Dinah’s gaze is practically burning a hole in her, but she doesn’t dare turn her head to meet it.

She doesn’t know how long she lies there, staring into the roof as Dinah’s eyes never leave her. For the first time in what seems like forever, it feels like she’s so,  _ so _ close to what she thought she had, but at the same time, it feels even further away than when there was a whole floor between them.

Wanting more than anything to truly feel Dinah close, Laurel tentatively stretches her arm out next to her, careful to not push it so far she will instigate any unwanted contact. Her worries are dispelled the moment her hand meets the soft sheets. It’s like all Dinah’s been doing is waiting for permission, and the second she gets it, her hand shoots out, gentle fingers wrapping around Laurel’s wrist.

Laurel exhales a shaky breath, her stare towards the ceiling intensifying as her senses hone in on Dinah’s touch. Ever so slowly, Dinah’s hand lifts enough so only the pads of her fingers are whispering against Laurel’s skin, gently dragging up and down her arm. The action is more soothing than anything Laurel can remember.

As they continue to lie like that, Laurel relaxes more and more, until sleep starts taking her, bit by bit. She’s almost fully gone when the movement against her arm stops. There is a brief pause, and Laurel barely registers warmth engulfing her as familiar hair tickles at her throat and a calming weight settles against her side. It’s the last push she needs to let sleep finally take hold of her.

***

Laurel would have thought she dreamt the events that transpired during the night if not for Dinah still sleeping soundly with half her body on top of Laurel’s as Laurel blinks her eyes open. A smile claims her lips as her fingers lazily play with the edge of Dinah’s hair, just in reach of where it’s resting on Dinah’s back. She doesn’t know what this means for them, but for right now, she allows herself a moment to simply enjoy it.

Dinah wakes up much too soon . Laurel knows sleep has left both of them when she feels Dinah’s head rubbing against her neck as she wakes up.

Laurel pulls her hand away like it’s been burned, hoping Dinah won’t have noticed what she was doing. “It’s nice to see you still have no qualms about using me as a pillow.”

“You like it.” Laurel doesn’t need to look to know there is a smug smile on Dinah’s lips.

“I only tolerate it because you’re so warm.” Dinah laughs, and Laurel can feel the breath of it against her throat. “Now if you don’t mind, I have to pee.” It’s not fully a lie, even if Laurel only says it because being so close is making it harder to breathe.

There is still a smile on Dinah’s lips when she pushes herself up with a hand braced on Laurel’s shoulder. Time moves in slow motion as the hand slips, ending up on the mattress next to Laurel’s shoulder instead, with Dinah’s body following close behind, stopping with her face mere inches from Laurel’s. Laurel doesn’t miss the way Dinah looks down to her lips, and it takes all her willpower not to erase the remaining distance between them.

It takes an excruciating eternity, but in the end, Dinah rolls completely off of her, allowing Laurel to make a quick escape to the bathroom, where she finally feels like she can breathe again.

Breakfast passes in silence. Laurel does her best to look at anything but the person sitting across from her, but she doesn’t have to look to know the same is not true for Dinah. She can  _ feel _ her glancing over every so often, and it’s making Laurel twitchy.

She wants to reciprocate it, but after the way she woke up, the way she had basically crawled into Dinah’s bed during the night, she is even more terrified of letting her walls fall down. Every second spent with Dinah feels like it could be the last. Even if she doesn’t get teleported to another time again, there is every chance that she will decide she wants nothing to do with Laurel. And Laurel hates the power Dinah has over her, hates that even with trying to keep her distance, having to part again would break her.

So it's better to stay away, so there will at least be some pieces left to pick up when the inevitable happens — despite how much her body pleads for her to do the opposite.

When their plates have been put away, Dinah turns to Laurel, finally breaking the silence. “I need to go check on the bar.” She doesn’t say it, but the way the words hang in the air between them, it’s clear Dinah is extending her an invitation. Laurel nods, doubting she would feel at home alone in the apartment anyway.

Laurel had expected “checking on the bar” to mean Dinah actually going behind the bar and checking everything was in order. Of course, what Dinah does instead is walk up on the stage, tracing the top of the piano with her finger. When she sits down on the bench, Laurel rolls her eyes and jumps over the counter. She locates two bottles of beer before moving back to the other side, sitting down on a barstool as a tune sounds from the piano. Laurel doesn’t recognize it, but it’s pleasant enough to hear. She turns around in her stool to face the stage. 

Dinah catches Laurel’s gaze as her mouth opens.  _ “Once upon a time I would’ve let you walk right out of my life.” _ Laurel has to take a deep breath as she hears Dinah sing, memories of when she first walked into the bar washing over her. It feels like an eternity ago now.

_ “I would rather die than have to live to say another goodbye.”  _ Dinah’s gaze is still fixed on Laurel, and Laurel tries very hard not to let herself believe the words are actually meant to be about her.

As she sings the next words, Dinah looks back to her piano. Laurel releases a long breath, not having realized she had been holding it. More words join with the melody, and Laurel turns around to take a sizable sip of her beer. When she turns back around, that intense gaze is right back on hers.

_ “You’re my best mistake and I’m not letting you escape this time.” _ Despite her best efforts, it’s hard to not let herself wonder if Dinah chose this song especially for her.  _ “So tell me it’s forever, even if it’s all a lie.” _ Laurel closes her eyes, willing her thoughts to cease as she listens to the rest of the song. She opens them again when the joint sound of the piano and Dinah’s voice finally simmers out.

“Second love song since I got here. Keep this up and I might start thinking you’re trying to tell me something,” Laurel says, trying to act nonchalant as she slides Dinah a beer when she claims the stool next to Laurel.

“Only might? Clearly I’m not trying hard enough.” If anyone asks why she nearly chokes, Laurel will tell them the beer confused itself with oxygen, trying to trickle its way into Laurel’s lungs. As she looks into Dinah’s eyes, an open, vulnerable look meets her.

“You left.” It’s the only fact that has managed to keep her walls up.

Regret flashes in Dinah’s gaze as she looks down. “Remember when I told you I thought the universe was sending me a message to leave my old life behind when it sent me here?” Laurel nods slowly, fearing where Dinah might be going with this. “It sent me here without you. So, I thought it was trying to tell me we shouldn’t be together.” Dinah looks back up at her, and this time Laurel is the one who finds herself averting her gaze.

“But then you came and found me anyway.” Dinah’s hand wraps around Laurel’s wrist, sending a wave of warmth through her arm. “And, well, we’ve already disproved the theory that the city doesn’t need the Canaries anymore.” Dinah’s hand moves slightly, her fingers snaking their way between Laurel’s palm and thumb. “So maybe I was wrong about what the universe wants for us as well.”

“Maybe?” Laurel turns back to meet Dinah’s gaze, scared of letting herself hope but feeling herself pulled towards Dinah all the same.

“Definitely.” Dinah’s thumb strokes the back of Laurel’s hand, and it all feels so familiar, so  _ safe _ .

“And what if the universe gives you another sign? One that says we’re bad for each other?” Laurel looks down at their joined hands, looking so perfect where they rest at the edge of the bar.

“Then I’ll tell it I’ve had enough of it trying to control my life.” Ever so slowly, Dinah lifts their hands up to her mouth, pressing a kiss to Laurel’s knuckles.

Laurel can’t help herself from smiling then, can’t help the warmth Dinah’s touch elicits from enveloping her. Can’t help herself from leaning in, pausing only when their lips are inches apart. “Promise?” she asks, needing one last confirmation before her walls come tumbling down.

“Promise.” Dinah cups her cheek, giving the moment one more second before she pulls Laurel closer, sealing the vow with a kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope y'all liked the ending, thank you for staying all the way through this thing ♥

**Author's Note:**

> I can be found on tumblr @wardenroot
> 
> Also, I recently made a Dinah x Laurel discord server with a couple friends 'cause we wanted somewhere to talk about these idiots, if anyone is interested in joining it, here's the link: <http://discord.gg/dVmDggq>


End file.
